Pre-candidate for the Presidency of the Republic for the PSD, the former governor of Goiás Ronaldo Caiado publicly defended that the national president of the party, Gilberto Kassab, occupy the position of vice on his ticket. During an appointment in Guaratinguetá, in the interior of São Paulo, on Sunday night (19), Caiado stated that the “ideal scenario” includes the ally in the dispute.
— It was perfect, complete in everything. Greater articulator. I already have your support. You can be sure, this would end with a flourish,” he said.
Caiado joined the PSD at the beginning of the year, after realizing that he would not be able to be a pre-candidate for Planalto with União Brasil. He then disputed the position internally with the governor of Paraná, Ratinho Junior, and the governor of Rio Grande do Sul, Eduardo Leite. Behind the scenes, Kassab showed a preference for Ratinho, but the Paraná native’s withdrawal changed the scenario and the Goiás native was anointed by the manager.
As O GLOBO showed, Ratinho Jr. decided not to run as a candidate after evaluating risks to his political future in Paraná. The decision also avoided a direct clash with the PL pre-candidate for Planalto, senator Flávio Bolsonaro (RJ). The movement occurred a few days after the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro articulated the party’s support for senator Sergio Moro in the dispute over the succession of Ratinho Jr.
Moro must face the Secretary of Cities, Guto Silva (PSD), appointed as a candidate for Ratinho’s political group, in the dispute for the government of Para.
From “pimp” to possible running mate
With a clear path in the party, Caiado also stated this Sunday that negotiations to form the ticket are still ongoing. According to him, the priority at this moment is the preparation of his government plan, which must be completed by the PSD convention, scheduled for July.
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Despite the current rapprochement, Caiado and Kassab were once on opposite sides. In 2015, the then DEM senator harshly criticized the PSD leader, at the time Minister of Cities under Dilma Rousseff (PT). At the time, Caiado accused Kassab of co-opting parliamentarians and called him a “pimp at Palácio do Planalto”, stating that he treated deputies like “call girls” to “strengthen his political base”.
Kassab did not respond to the candidate’s statement about a possible pure-blood ticket to Planalto, but the leader, as shown by O GLOBO, is looking for ways to resume his political protagonism in São Paulo and at the national level. He sought to secure the vice-presidential ticket for the re-election of the governor of São Paulo, Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans), with an eye on taking the lead to Palácio dos Bandeirantes in 2030, but the movement was frustrated after internal differences.
The most recent episode of friction involved the then ally and former tucano Felício Ramuth, who resisted giving up the vice-governorship and left the PSD to join the MDB and remain alongside Tarcísio on the state majority ticket. Faced with the impasse, Kassab suggested leaving the party, maintaining, however, support for Tarcísio’s eventual re-election.
Without space in the hard core of the São Paulo campaign, Kassab should not be directly involved in the race for Palácio dos Bandeirantes, according to allies.
